Drivers Ignore Tech Features According to Survey

Results are in, and it doesn’t look good for companies banking on growth in the automotive technology users.

JD Power has recently completed and posted a survey for new car owners, and the results may surprise you. According to the results of their survey, people don’t like to use the tech in their cars. In fact, in the 4,200 new drivers they survey, more than 20% reported they used half or less of the infotainment systems on offer in their cars. While 20% seems like a small number, it actually amounts to 1 in 5 new car drivers, which is actually significant.

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As for the breakdown, it seems the concierge apps are the least used at 43%. On board internet hub technology was ignored by 38% of new drivers, while automatic parking following closely at 35%. Heads up display and system apps, like Apple CarPlay or Google Android Auto, saw 33% and 32% unused rates respectively. If customers aren’t opting for more technology in their cars, what are they using?

Their phones. According to JD Power’s researcher Kristin Kolodge, customers were more interested in sticking with the familiarity of their handheld devices for a lot of the music playing and navigation based apps. Age did play a factor in the survey, but trending showed that Gen-Y owners actually ignored 23 features, more than the average of 20 among other age groups.

When asked why they didn’t want the technology in their next vehicle, respondents said the tech wasn’t useful, or that it was included with the vehicle and wasn’t wanted. They also blamed dealer experience. New customers either weren’t shown the technology and how it works, nor did they learn how it could be useful for them. What the new drivers did want, safety enhancing features like adaptive cruise control, land departure, and collision warning, are typically costly add ons. Infotainment systems are becoming common standard gear.

JD Power interviewed owners of new cars purchased or leased within the last 90 days of survey completion.